In our constantly expanding world, where civilization pushes the boundaries of living space, nevertheless, there are places untouched and unexplored by man.
These are amazing areas of mysteries and secrets, hidden in remote corners of our planet, preserving the unexplored world of ancient nature.
Existing alone for millions of years, some territories seem to be able to withstand our relentless quest to penetrate the unknown and increase our influence.
One of these mysterious and lost worlds, which have lived for many years without human participation, is located in the desert highlands of South America. This is a beautiful and mysterious world, raising its rocky peaks to the clouds themselves, where legends and ancient myths about miracles and terrible demons reign.
No, goblins do not run here, and druids do not knock with hammers, anomalous energy does not boil here, but this world is full of adventures and rich in stories of daring scouts of ancient secrets. Welcome to the lost world of the mysterious jungle of Venezuela, where deep craters of earth lurk.
Here, in the jungles of the Guiana Plateau of South America, so majestic mountains rise, that their 3,000 meters in height rest against the sky with their peaks, interfering with the calm procession of clouds. These are not just rocks, known to researchers for their sheer walls, these are unique places of an ancient ecosystem, where a huge green world develops in complete isolation from the frantic rhythm of external life, hiding in a fence of rugged jungle.
Tepui Venezuela - the abode of the Gods
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In fact, the ecology of mountains and forests is so unique and isolated that Tepuis (table mountains made of sedimentary rocks) are often referred to as "islands above the rainforest." The phenomenon of nature is often referred to as the "Galapagos of the mainland" or "ecological islands". Many of these "forest islands" are hidden from aerial observation by eternal fog and clouds, which perfectly masks the surface from aircraft or satellite radars.
A strange sculpture, said to have been eroded in Tepui.
This is truly the lost world of Arthur Conan Doyle, living a special life with its own climate and weather. Interestingly, it seems that the jungles of Venezuela exist in some other place in space and time. There are more than 100 villages scattered across the landscape of southern Venezuela and Guiana, also capturing Brazil's border regions that hide from people's eyes. Magical and fabulous places that go through the centuries, surrounded by indigenous legends. Even the word "Tepui" in the language of the Pemon Indians sounds like "the house of the gods."
Of course, all the wondrous Tepuis are a magnificent sight, capturing the imagination with a single spirit and expecting the appearance of the ancient animals of the Earth. But no, ancient monsters have not been met here, although there are a huge number of legends describing Tepui. All of them, of course, cannot be described at once, so let's get to know at least a small part of the mysterious place “Sarisariñama”, located in the National Park “Jaua-Sarisariñama” in the far corner of the southwest of Bolivar state, Venezuela.
This large and wooded mountain up to 2,350 meters high, with an area of about 547 km ², keeps in its forests eerie legends about terrible demons and monsters. The inhabitants of the region still remember the ancestral stories that Sarisariñama was once home to an incredibly evil spirit that hunted humans to devour them. A terrible demon, a real devil who crawled out of the darkness and chaos, drove people into dark caves to then feast on their flesh.
Probably, a terrible demon really lived in these places, since the name Sarisariñama comes from the sound of an evil creature eating flesh and bone, which sounded like "Sari sari". You can't walk there at all, say the locals, even now considering Tepui the abode of evil demons. In addition to its impressive collection of sinister myths surrounding Sarisariñama, the site is well known for being a rare example of a mountaintop forest where various trees rise 25 meters.
Venezuela's strange funnels
However, our story does not lie in the realm of mythology and demons, although this plot twist was inevitable. We are heading towards strange sinkholes in a land whose history is unknown. Today, four huge craters are known, which are deep round holes in the ground, possibly formed by some kind of processes in the surface layer.
Equal among others, the Humboldt funnel is considered the largest failure. This is a phenomenal hole in the ground, up to 352 meters wide at the very top, 502 meters wide at the very bottom, and 314 meters deep! Just imagine these colossal dimensions, and the Eiffel Tower can easily fit here!
Mysterious failures of Venezuela.
Shares the mystery of the lost world and another large hole with a depth of 248 meters, called "Martel", which lies seven hundred meters from the Humboldt hole. In the lower part of both sinkholes, the bottom is hidden by such thick forests that even rays of light fearfully penetrate deep into this darkness. Maybe so, they offer a version of daring hypothesis, here the lost world of Arthur Conan Doyle really hides, because these places represent completely unexplored territory.
Explorers' journey into the lost world of the jungle
This happened in November 1961 when Harry Gibson looked down while flying over the Sarisariñama and saw the gaping crater pits. Thus, the pilot marked their first discovery for history, at least for the outside world. Obviously, such an anomaly on earth gave rise to a lot of rumors, stirring up the imagination of many people who know how to write an adventure story in a beautiful style.
The discovery of ancient karst sinkholes (as the appearance of sinkholes is considered to be) aroused great interest among fearless explorers who are ready to go to any corner of the Earth in search of adventure. The mystery of the gaps called and beckoned, demanded to look at the bottom of these phenomenally large earth holes, nestled among the dangerous and impassable jungle.
But how to get through, in the complete absence of any roads, and overcome the walls of sheer cliffs? This is a very difficult task that requires decisive efforts on the part of researchers, although by this time a person had already studied the Arctic spaces and knew how to penetrate hidden places.
The first attempt to solve the mystery of the failures took place in 1974, when a well-equipped team of seekers went here. It was a real expedition led by David Knott and Charles Brewer-Carias. The team of experts was going to penetrate into the unexplored area of the jungle of Venezuela, as if representing the surface of some alien planet.
The team was dropped on the Tepui plateau by helicopter, after which they were ready to descend into the unknown and the murky darkness of ancient legends, to look at the very bottom of the craters - where in the old days an evil demon lived!
The expedition members went down to the largest Humboldt hole on ropes, and here and there they encountered a problem. It became obvious that, towards their lower part, the funnels widen significantly. As a result of this phenomenon, the ropes hung freely and far from the walls. The position of tree branches worsened, captivating the pioneers with powerful forces of the jungle, preventing those who descended from getting to the surface. Realizing the desperate plight of their colleagues, the other team members lower their saws and axes down to clear enough space for a helicopter to land at the bottom of the hole.
Captured by the jungle, members of the expedition sawed and chopped trees, destroying the secluded world of a thousand-year-old ecosystem. But they were not destined to leave the lost world in helicopters, which had lived in remote isolation for centuries.
No, there were no dinosaurs who came running to the clatter of axes, or pterodactyls flocked to the shrill voice of chainsaws. It just soon became clear that there was no way or opportunity to land a helicopter at the bottom of a giant earthen crater. Eventually, the prisoners were hauled out using the ship's ladders, lifting the explorers from the depths of the sinkhole.
Yes, the first expedition failed to answer all the mysteries of nature. However, it became known that the craters were not formed by the influence of an underground river, as previously assumed.
The next expedition set off into the lost world of the jungle in 1976, in cooperation between the Polish and Venezuelan authorities. This well-equipped expedition uncovered the mystery of yet another pit on the surface of the earth, discovering the largest quartzite cave in the world, measuring 1.35 kilometers in length.
The discovery of this funnel in some way was able to shed light on the mystery of how strange sinkholes appeared in general without a source of groundwater, making a claim to the action of the inexorable forces of erosion and nature. In subsequent years, the two major failures, Humboldt and Martel, will be named after explorer Alexander Humboldt and speleologist Edouard-Alfred Martel.
An interesting thing, but despite the subsequent expeditions of researchers to these mysterious places, karst sinkholes even now remain largely unexplored and keep most of their secrets. Few expeditions have been able to gain a deeper understanding of the secrets that hide in the unique ecosystem of the lost world.
The habitat of these phenomenal sites is home to a wide range of flora and fauna. This area of the planet is completely cut off from the rest of the world by impenetrable forests and insurmountable rock walls. Many believe that previously unseen species of plants and animals can be found here, although this of course refers to potential discoveries.
Surprisingly, here and the other, lying from each other only at a distance of 700 meters, the funnels contain their own unique world. At the bottom of these dips, as well as on the inaccessible plateaus themselves, there are forests completely isolated from each other, which are often called "islands within the island."
It seems strange, but it seems no matter how much we strive to explore the world in which we live, there are always unexplored places on the planet that preserve some of the wilderness of the past. What secrets are hidden at the bottom of the dips, what age are they, what can be at the depth of the dips? Will we ever understand the depth of these mysteries? And in general, is it necessary to stir up the secret of what nature preserves unchanged for millions of years.
